Power transmission belt



y 2, 1956 J. ADAMS, JR 7 2,746,308

POWER TRANSMISSION BELT Original Filed Sept. 8, 1951 L A L 4 I, Hwy a 2,746,308 POWER TRANSMISSION BELT James Adams, Jr., Passaic, N. assignor to, Raybestos- Manhattan, Inc., Passaic, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey i Original application September 8, 1951, Serial No. 245,706, now Patent No. 2,620,016, dated December 2, 1952. Divided and this application May 23,1952, Serial No. 289,607

2 Claims. (Cl. 74233) This invention relates to improvments in multiple groove belts, and is a division of United States Letters Patent No. 2,620,016, issued December 2, 1952, and refers particularly to a flexible power transmission belt having on its working face a plurality of parallel ribs,

preferably of substantially V cross-section, said ribs being enclosed or lined with a fabric liner.

In my copending patent application, Serial No. 373,766, filed August 12, 1953, nowPatent Number 2,728,239 and which is a continuation-in-part of abandoned application Serial No. 266,194, filed January 12, 1952, I have shown and describedja'power transmission drive and belt thereliner with a plurality of either separate or joined strips of fabric, the'fabric strips being disposed in lateraloverfor wherein the belt carries at its working face a plurality of parellel ribs, the ribs being parallel to the lengthlof the belt. As described in said application for Letters Patent, the sectional shape of the ribs may be substantially any desired, but that a rib section which comprises substantially a V or triangular section is preferred.

In using such belt, the belt is trained around a pulley which is provided witha plurality of annular grooves, corresponding in number to the number of the ribs upon the belt, the cross-section of each of said groovesbeing substantially the same as the cross-section of each of the ribs whereby the ribs register in the grooves and make complete contact with the walls of the pulley grooves, that is, no clearance space is contemplated between the belt ribs and the grooves during operation of the belt upon the pulley. In this fashion the radial thrust urging the belt toward the pulley during its passage around the pulley sets up a hydrostatic pressure in the ribs confined in the grooves, the ribs being formed of a substantially incompressible resilient material.

As mentioned hereinbefore, the ribs are constructed of a substantially incompressible resilient material, preferably rubber or a rubber compound, and inasmuch as the surface of the ribs contact the pulley grooves, it is desirable to confine the ribs with a fabric liner, preferably a rubberized fabric. 7

In said application for patent, hereinbefore mentioned, the importance of substantially complete registration and confinement of the belt ribs in the pulley grooves was stressed in order to secure the advantages of the hydrostatic pressure grip of the belt upon the pulley. Hence, the defining surfaces of the ribs, as well as the companion or mating surfaces of the grooves must be carefully formed.

I have found that in applying the rib-covering fabric liner to the ribs, which is done during the molding and curing of the ribs, difiiculty is sometimes encountered, particularly when the ratio of the zig-zag Width, measured transversely across the ribs, to the planar width of the belt is great. In such cases, if a fiat unitary sheet of fabric is employed for the, rib liner there is a tendency for the fabric to be unduly stretched during the molding operation which sometimes results in tearing or rupturing of the fabric.

Briefly described, the method of making the belt comprising my present invention resides in forming the rib lapping relationship longitudinally parallel to the length of the ribs ifseparate strips are employed, or the strips may comprise pleats or folds, if joined strips are employed. In forming the liner, theoverlapped orpleated strip lineris'disposed betweenthe rib molding elements and the resilient stock from which the ribs are formed. Upon the application of pressure and heat to the mold the belt ribs are formed with the strip liner enveloping the ribs. flat unitary liner tended to unduly stretch and tear the fabric liner, expends itself upon the strip or pleated liner by laterally shifting or slipping relative to each other.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the accompanyingdrawing and following detailed descriptionl In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a plurality of separate fabric strips laterally overlapped to, define strip liner.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view partly insec tion illustrating a beltcarcass in a mold with the strip liner of Fig. l interposedbetween the rib-forming elements and the belt carcass. p i f" Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view of a finished belt carrying astrip liner of the type shown in Fig. 1 over the ribs. p n

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified strip liner wherein the adjacent strips are joined in pleated or folded fashion.

Referring in detail to the drawing, 1 indicates a lower mold member and 2 indicates an upper mold member, the

upper member being movable under pressure toward and away from the lower member. 1 is provided with a cavity 3defined by walls 4 and a means (not shown) isernploy'ed to urge the upper mold member toward the lower mold member to compress and form the belt carcass, and conventional heating means (not shown) may be employed to heat and cure thebelt carcass during the molding operation.

The belt carcass 9 may comprise one or more fabric cover sheets 10, 10 which are usually andypreferably.

rubberized. Beneath the fabric sheets"10, 10,a layer of strength members 11 may be positioned in a row parallel to the fabric sheets 10, 10. The strength members shown comprise a'plurality of elongated, relatively strong cords which are disposed parallel to the length of thebelt and coextensive therewith. Of course, any desired conventional form of strength layer is contemplated for purposes of the present invention since the invention is not dependent upon a specific kind of strength member and, in fact, is not dependent on the presence of a strength member at all.

i It is contemplated that the belt formed by my process have longitudinal ribs upon the working face thereof. Hence, a relatively thick layer 12 of rubber or rubber compositionis disposed beneath the strength layer 11, the material comprising the layer 12 being that which, in the finished belt, constitutes the ribs. Accordingly, the layer 12, when the carcass is positioned in the cavity, is dis- H Patented May 2 2,

The stretchingforce, which in the caseof the 1 adjacent strips or pleats The lower mold member sectioned ribs 13 will be formed upon the working face of the belt.

As has been hereinbefore described, it is desirable to line the ribs with a layer of fabric, preferably rubberizedfabric. Accordingly, as afeature'of the invention, prior to disposing the carcass 9 in the cavity 3, a layer of fabric 14 isdisposed over the rib-forming elements 6 and 7,'being disposed between said elements and the layer '12. The layer 14 may be formed of a plurality of separate strips 15 of fabric which are disposed in laterally overlapping relationship to one another in shingle fashion, the strips all being parallel to one another. The fabric layer 14 thus constituted is disposed in the cavity in such position that the strips 15 overlie, and are disposed parallel to, the rib-forming elements 6 and 7. If the strips are rubberized they will possess a degree of taclriness or adhesiveness whereby the layer 14 can conveniently be handled as a unitary layer. I

When pressure has been applied to the upper mold member 2 to press thecarcass and form the ribs 13, the layer 14 will be so acted upon by the rib-forming ele ments 6 and 7 as to define and traverse the outer surfaces of the ribs, as shown best. in Fig. 3. It will be noted that the strips 15 areoverlapped a major portion of their width prior to the rib-forming operation and that subsequently the original planar width of the layer is extended to cover the zig-zag width of the ribs. Hence, during the pressing operation, the strips move laterally away from each other to form this increased width. Preferably the degree of overlapping of the strips is correlated to the ratio of the planar Width to the zigzag width of the belt so that in the finished belt the layer 14 will overlie the ribs 13 in a double layer, as shown best in Fig. 3. Of course, the degree of overlapping of the strips 15 may be correlated to the ratio of the planar width and zig-zag width to result in substantially any desired degree of overlapping in the final rib liner, but it is desired that the lateral shifting of the strips during pressing be insuflicient to cause lateral separation of the strips in the final rib liner.

In forming the layer 14, individual strips 15 of rubberized fabric may be laid in overlapping relationship, as shown best in Fig. 1. Undersome circumstances it may be more convenient to wind a continuous rubberized strip upon a mandrel in a suitable spiraled overlapping relationship and .to sever the layer thus formed upon the mandrel transversely to the wound strip. The overlapped layer may then be stripped from the mandrel. As another manner of forming the layer 14, a rela tively wide strip of fabric which has been slit into strips of the desired width may be wound helically upon the mandrel and subsequently severed transversely to the length of the strips. Preferably, the weave of the strips 15 comprising the layer 14 is so disposed as to be diagonal with respect to the length and width of the strips so that a degree of transverseand longitudinal contraction or expansion of the strip may take place.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, a strip liner 16 is shown wherein the strips are laterally joined together. In this form of liner a unitary sheet of fabric is pleated or folded to form overlapping pleated or folded strips 17. The liner 16 is employed in a manner similar to the liner 14 hereinbefore described, the pleats or folds 17 being laid substantially parallel to the rib-forming members in the mold. During themolding operation the lateral stretching force exerted by the rib-forming members expends itself in causing the pleats or folds 16 to slip laterally with respect to each other, thereby obviating tearing of the fabric. Preferably, the lines of folds or pleats are diagonal with respect to the fabric comprising the liner. Although the present invention has been shown and described in conjunction with a'multiple groove belt of the type contemplated in my copending patent application, hereinbefore mentioned, it need not be limited specifically to that type of belt since its advantages are inherent in the manufacture of any type of belt wherein a plurality of ribs are to be covered by a fabric liner. In addition, although V or triangular sectioned ribs are shown and described, the-present invention is advantageous in the manufacture of belts with liner covered ribs of substantially any sectional shape.

I claim as my invention:

1. A relatively flexible power transmission belt comprising a relatively resilient carcass, a plurality of substantially triangular sectioned ribs upon a working face of the belt carcass disposed substantially parallel to the length of the belt carcass, and a fabric liner covering said ribs and enveloping and laterally embracing the portions of least sectional dimensions of said ribs, said fabric liner comprising a plurality of fabric strips disposed lengthwise of said ribs in lateral overlapping relationship to one another, said strips being narrower than the width of the belt and a plurality of said strips covering each rib.

2. A relatively flexible power transmission belt comprising a relatively resilient carcass, a plurality of substantially triangular sectioned ribs upon a working face of the belt carcass disposed substantially parallel to the length of the belt carcass, said triangular sectioned ribs having relatively narrow ridge portions at the apices of the ribsections, and a fabric liner covering said ribs and enveloping and laterally embracing the relatively narrow ridge portions of said ribs, said fabric liner comprising a plurality of fabric strips disposed substantially parallel to each other and substantially parallel to said ribs, said strips having their lateral edges in overlapping relationship to one another upon the working face of the belt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 164,002 Jewell June 1, 1875 1,425,021 Kepler Aug. 8, 1922 1,729,329 Chilton Sept. 24, 1929 2,442,037 Carter et al May 25, 1948 2,471,969 Meyer May 31, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 994,971 France Aug. 14, 1951 

